Dean
USC Annenberg School for Communication

Ernest J. Wilson III is Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Dr. Wilson‘s experience at the intersection of communication and public policy spans the private and public sectors. He has served as a consultant to international agencies such as the World Bank and the United Nations, worked in government at the White House National Security Council and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, led research centers and academic departments at premier institutions of higher education, and held positions with media companies and other corporations.

Director, School of Journalism
USC Annenberg School for Communication

Geneva Overholser is director of the School of Journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. Previously, she held the Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting for the Missouri School of Journalism, based in the school’s Washington bureau. She was editor of The Des Moines Register from 1988 to 1995, leading the paper to a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She has been ombudsman of The Washington Post, a member of the editorial board of The New York Times, a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group, and a reporter for the Colorado Springs Sun.

Deputy Chairman for Grants & Awards
National Endowment for the Arts

Bill O’Brien is Deputy Director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Prior to his appointment, he served for seven years as producing director and managing director for Deaf West Theater (DWT) where he received a Tony and a Drama Desk nomination for producing the Broadway sign language production of Big River and received three Ovation Award nominations for his work on the production of Big River at Deaf West (as producer, sound designer and lead actor).